A milestone just happened in Britney Spears‘ conservatorship case, as on Tues. Apr. 27, as Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny scheduled a hearing on June 23 to allow Britney to finally speak on her own behalf on the “status of the conservatorship.” While it is unclear yet what the “Toxic” singer will reveal to the probate court, her attorney Samuel Ingham asked that her testimony be heard “on an expedited basis,” Variety reports. Britney has been battling to have her father Jamie Spears removed in any capacity from her conservatorship. HollywoodLife.com has reached out to Britney’s lawyer and publicist regarding her testifying in her case.
Britney has been under a court-ordered conservatorship for the past 13 years, which came following a series of psychiatric hospitalizations in early 2008. Since then, the singer has been high functioning enough to do two world tours, release four albums and put on a wildly successful four year residency at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. Yet her finances, estate and career are still controlled by her dad.
The Feb. 5 documentary Framing Britney Spears called into question why the 39-year-old’s life is still highly controlled by others all of these years later. The singer has asked that her care manager Jodi Montgomery stay on as conservator of her “person” — meaning she liaises with Britney’s medical team for her well being. Jodi was given the position temporarily in 2019 when her father stepped down for health reasons, and the mother of two is happy with how Jodi has executed her job.
Britney’s career and finances are still under partial control of Jamie, who is now co-conservator along with the wealth management firm Bessemer Trust over Britney’s estate. She wants her dad removed entirely from her conservatorship, telling the court via her lawyer Samuel in Nov. 2020 that she is “afraid” of her father and that “She will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career.”
While Britney hasn’t spoken out in the past about her conservatorship, she did take the rare step of making her feelings known about the Framing documentary. In a Mar. 30, 2021 Instagram post, she wrote, “My life has always been very speculated…watched…and judged really my whole life!!!” then added, “I didn’t watch the documentary but from what I did see of it I was embarrassed by the light they put me in…I cried for two weeks and well….I still cry sometimes!!!!” Hopefully getting to speak out on her conservatorship will help Britney feel better, as well as let the court know how she feels about it directly from the singer’s own mouth.